Sandwich Boards Project - Social Issue

Today we made wearable sandwich boards to protest a social issue in modern society (2020 being a great year for this project) so I picked racism which has a significant issue today, especially in America. On each board I wrote a different message; I opted to use a regular medium for these boards - simply using paints and cardboard - to keep it true to the signs that are used in protests, rather than using digital software such as the Adobe programs.

I wanted the messages to be simple and as direct as possible. The first board I made, 'Dear Karen, your voice could end this!!! (but please wear a damn mask!)' is a message who's meaning is heavily related to recent events in 2020 - just reading the board in 2019, I don't think anyone would have understood the message. I believe that this statement has a deeper meaning due to its contextual references (only people in 2020 would understand).

The slang term 'Karen' has been used to describe, typically a white middle aged woman who is shallow minded and famous for going nuts in stores when asked to wear a mask (to prevent the spread of COVID-19). She only thinks about herself and creates a scene when others mention masks. It is a popular term in meme culture in 2020, as videos and news articles circulated this year of 'Karens' flipping out and screaming abuse in stores when asked to wear a mask.

The message plays on the idea of 'Karen' being vocal, as in, why should she be so vocal over something so trivial (wearing a mask to protect herself and others from corona) when she could use her voice against a far more important cause, such as racism, which is the social issue my boards are focusing on. Hence the sentence 'your voice could end this'. A 'Karen' is typically white, giving her more privilege unjustly, so as a white person it would help other white people to understand why racism is wrong and unfair. The second part of the message 'but please wear a damn mask!' is quite obvious what it alludes to. The aim was for this statement to be satirical yet meaningful and effective.

I painted yellow smiley faces to fill up the space. These give the sense of the message being polite as possible yet very direct and straight to the point - such as when a person gives you a tight smile.

For this second board that was for the back, it makes the message of the protest more clear. It reads, 'I understand that I will never understand, but... we sure as hell stand.' This refers, of course to the pain and anguish of black families across the world - with their brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, lives being taken unjustly by police brutality. A prime well known example of this is George Floyd, who's famous last words were, 'I can't breathe'. I am not black, so I do not understand this pain - but I too have been a victim of racism and racist comments simply because I am not white.

This statement is empathetic, and acknowledges the suffering of blacks across the world. It shows that regardless of our colour, we will take a stand against racism and seek to end this wrongful suffering. Till I collapse. Using different colours I have emphasised different parts of the message - 'never' in red - a strong, bold colour alluding to blood and suffering. 'Understand' in a calmer blue colour, which is more thoughtful and conveys a sense of empathy, and 'but...' in yellow for the less important yet pivotal word for the message, and 'we sure as hell stand' in black to once acknowledge who is suffering, 'we' underlined, as a sense of unity against oppression', and 'stand' with a full stop in big writing to make the message as direct as it can be.